1 Kings Chapter 21

“And it came to pass, after these things, etc.] After the two battles with the king of Syria, in which Ahab was victorious, and after he had let Benhadad, a blasphemer, and injurious to him, go free: [that] Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel; of which place (see Gill on “<280105>Hosea 1:5”) or “who was in Jezreel”; that is Naboth, for the vineyard was in Samaria, (<112118>1 Kings 21:18) hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria; that being the metropolis of the kingdom of Israel, is put for it, who, besides his palace in Samaria, had another in Jezreel; which, according to Bunting f443,…”

“NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (Kg1 21:1-4) Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel--Ahab was desirous, from its contiguity to the palace, to possess it for a vegetable garden. He proposed to Naboth to give him a better in exchange, or to obtain it by purchase; but the owner declined to part with it. In persisting in his refusal, Naboth was not actuated by any feelings of disloyalty or disrespect to the king, but solely from a conscientious regard to the divine law, which, for important reasons, had prohibited the sale of a paternal inheritance [Lev 25:23; Num 36:7]; or if, through extreme…”

“A vineyard ... in Jezreel - The name Jezreel is applied in Scripture, not merely to the town 1 Kings 18:46, but also to the valley or plain which lies below it, between Mount Gilboa and Little Hermon (2Sa 2:9; 2 Kings 9:10; Hosea 1:5; etc.). The palace of Ahab at Jezreel was on the eastern side of the city, looking toward the Jordan down the valley above described. It abutted on the town wall 2 Kings 9:30-31. Immediately below it was a dry moat. Beyond, in the valley, either adjoining the moat, or at any rate at no great distance, was the plot of ground belonging to Naboth 2 Kings 9:21. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The Lord forbid - For God had expressly, and for divers weighty reasons forbidden the alienation of lands from the tribes and families to which they were allotted. And although these might have been alienated 'till the jubilee, yet he durst not sell it to the king for that time; because he supposed, if once it came into the king's hand, neither he, nor his posterity, could ever recover it; and so he should both offend God, and wrong his posterity. 3 Kings (1 Kings) 21:7”

“21:1-16 The writer includes another incident in which king Ahab responded in an angry and sullen manner (20:43; 21:4). 21:1 In addition to his palace in the capital city, Ahab had a second palace in Jezreel. Excavations at Jezreel have unearthed a sizeable palace there. • Samaria, which sometimes refers to the capital city, here indicates the whole northern kingdom.”

“am 3105, bc 899 after: Kg1 20:35-43; Ch2 28:22; Ezr 9:13, Ezr 9:14; Isa 9:13; Jer 5:3 Jezreel: Kg1 18:45; Jos 19:18; Jdg 6:33; Sa1 29:1; Hos 1:4, Hos 1:5 3 Kings (1 Kings) 21:2”

“After these events Ahab was seized with such a desire for a vineyard which was situated near his palace at Jezreel, that when Naboth, the owner of the vineyard, refused to part with his paternal inheritance, he became thoroughly dejected, until his wife Jezebel paved the way for the forcible seizure of the desired possession by the shameful execution of Naboth ( Kg1 21:1-15). But when Ahab was preparing to take possession of the vineyard, Elijah came to meet him with the announcement, that both he and his wife would be visited by the Lord with a bloody death for this murder and robbery, and that his idolatry…”